Thank you Mr. Robinson, again.
 

Today is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game as a black player in Major League baseball.

His uniform number "42" was retired by the Dodgers in 1971, and in 1997, Major League baseball retired the number for all teams. During today's games all player on the Dodgers and their game opponent, the San Deigo Padres, will all wear the number 42, as will the players for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

On some teams a particular player or players will be allowed to wear the #42. This was started in a petition by Ken Griffey Jr, to baseball comissioner Bud Selig, to be allowed to honor Jackie Robinson personally by wearing his number. Torii Hunter of the Twins, Gary Sheffield of the Tigers, Derrek Lee of the Cubs and Jermaine Dye of the White Sox also will wear the #42, along with the Yankees Mariano Rivera, who wears the #42 everyday, as he was wearing it when MLB decided to universally retire Robinson's #42, in 1997, and Rivera was "grandfathered" to continue to wear it untill he retires from the game.

With the events taking place over the past week, it is obvious that we as a society have not done all we can to make race a "non issue" and there is more work to be done, but maybe we can continue to learn from the past and strive to improve.

As a baseball fan, I would like to say thanks to Mr. Robinson for all he endured to make the game of baseball the great game it is. His plaque in the baseball Hall of Fame, never mentions the fact that he broke baseballs color barrier, which is the ultimate tribute to a great player and man.

I have taught my Lost Boys all about Jackie Robinson. He is the perfect role model for a group of young men who are having to learn to "suck it up" and just take it.

Definitely a day that should be recognized by everybody. Not just baseball fans.

I'm sitting here watching the pre-game show before my Cubbies come on the tube. They are showing a special "thank you Jackie Robinson" message that includes some of the current major league players. I may be an incredibly sentimental wuss but it damn near brings tears to my eyes.

I cannot imagine what the game that I love so dearly would be like today had Mr. Robinson not helped pave the way for today's ballplayers. I can't even begin to understand what he had to face but I am so incredibly grateful that he was a strong enough person to get past all of the crap and make his mark in the game.

IowaMan,

Yessir. Quite so.

Today, not surprisingly, I've seen and heard many interviews with and about Jackie Robinson. One of the BEST was with Rachel Robinson, his widow, who is just as classy, elegant, funny, quick-witted and eloquent as anyone can ask of a human being.

The title of this thread is thank you Mr. Robinson, but it also needs to be said, thank you MRS. Robinson, for keeping your husbands memory, and his ideals, alive and well in the years since his passing.

ESPN needs to hire her to do their Sunday night games on a full-time basis and get rid of Joe Morgan. :nod: